Nieminen defeats Davydenko in Open Sud de France

MONTPELLIER, France -- Jarkko Nieminen of Finland beat fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 7-6 (8) in the second round of the Open Sud de France on Wednesday, defeating the Russian for the first time in 10 years and reaching his second quarterfinal of the season.

Davydenko had won their previous four matches, with Nieminen's last win coming on clay at the Rome Masters in 2003. He broke Davydenko's serve three times in the match.

In other first-round matches, sixth-seeded Julien Benneteau of France led 6-3, 4-2 when Romania's Adrian Ungur retired with a thigh injury. Benneteau plays Victor Hanescu in the second round. Seventh-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia beat Lucas Pouille of France 6-4, 7-5 and will play Jan Hajek.